The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-03-19
CHICAGo's OUTLET.
A Grand Water Way from Lake Michigan
to the Mississippi River.

An adjourned meeting Of the Business
Mems Association was held in the supervis'
ors room at the court house on Monday
evening Of this week, to discuss the question
Of the proposed outlet OF Chicago sewerage
through this region of country. The meet
ing. considering the meagureness OF the no
tice, was we'll attended by the leading bust
ness men and prominent citizens generally
Mayor Allen, the president, after briefly
mentioning the subject and its vast impor'
lance, introduced Mr.. VIM. Thomas, the ex'
superintendent of the Illinois and Michigan
canal, who said In substance:
"By invitation of the citizens am here
to make a few remarks in explanation of the
way by which Chicago is proposed to be re
lieved of sewage. This trouble has been
an all important one in that city for num-
Der Of years. There have been number OF
schemes restorted to to get rid Of this mighty
nuisance in several years and the city has
out grown them all, each IN its turn, and
now the old trouble has come again. The
topography of the country around Chicago is
most fortunate FOR that city, that is, its loca-
ton is advantageous for the disposal of sew
age The idea prevalent in the country
Of the people outside, to considerable eI'
tent, is that Chicago is Imposing upon the
people outside, along the canal; that she is
filling the canal with rubbish and poisoning
the water and filling the air with stenches
from her sewers. am not Of this opinion.
If it is so the question now is, shall Chicago
be allowed to discharge any sort Of water
into the canal. But can show that Chicago
has q right to do 50. The very act Of con-
gress granting the lands which were sold to
procure money to build the canal specifies
that it was "to unite the waters of Lake
Michigan with those of the Mississippi
river" The act of the state legislature on
the same subject many years ago, gave the
same declaration. The state failed, il is true,
but the land grant did not, nor were any of
the original plans of the canal changed to
any important extent, so far as connecting
the waters Of the lakes and the great river
was concerned. To say then that Chicago
has not the right to let the waters Of the
lake into the canal is to 60 back upon the
contract. But this right does not permit
Chicago to commit nuisance. She is liable
for all damages her sewerage may occasion.
The question is, shall Chicago be allowed to
cut new channel to Joliet, taking the Des
PLANES river from Bridgeport to Lockport
large enough to carry from 100000 to 200,
600 cubic feet Of water per minute? At this
point there is dead level for eighteen miles.
From Summit to Bridge port the original fall
was feet; then to Lemont there was no
fall then to Lsckport fall of 20 feet. The
fall from Lockport to Joliet is so feet to
the mouth of Fox river 20 feet to La Sale
81 80, ma king l4l $40 feet from Lockport
to La Sale. Chicago purposes to cut from
the lake to LOckport in the bed of the Des
PLANES river, thence down the Illinois river
Under the former scheme of building the
canal, when the state broke down and aban
doned the enterprise, it was then as it had
been from the start demonstrated that there
could be no other plan than to cut out from
the lower end of the lake. But when the
canal work was resumed it was on the
" summit level In 1865 bill was passed
the canal trustees to make ar
rangements with Chicago to carry out the
original plan, and to authorize that city to
expend two and half millions of dollars to
cut down the summit level" The chan.
mel was 60 feet wide with a declevity of LILO
of foot to the mile. From Lockport to
Joliet the fall is so feet in miles Joliet
to Ottawa 70 feet IN SO or "a miles; Ottawa
to La Sale 20 feet in Is miles. As we get
! foot and PIG all the way down, so it is
easy to see that lake water would flow abun.
dainty and rapidly through this channel
What interest has Ottawa in this enterprise?
If the legislature will pass law with proper
so as to amply provide for all
damages if 100000 cubic feet of flow per
minute shall flow into this channel, it must
be 100 feet wide and 10 feet deep This
200, 1000 feet in the river might make vol
ume covering 900 feet wide here in places,
but you would have navigable stream,
though in places it did overflow. The dam
at Henry at the south side, borders on field
belonging to Mr.. Green. The dam raised the
water, but it did not overflow, yet the water
set back under the soil and this farm has
since become willow swamp. Provision
should be made for all such damages The
advantages to the people of a running stream
of clear, cold water, the year around, for
health alone, could not be properly estima-
ed, The sewage of the great city of Chi.
cago of course is poison and must be car.
ried off in some way which is the least hurt
full to all. If the great cities of Europe
which are far older than Chicago, were cir
cumstanced as she is, they would undoubtly
relieve themselves of sewage in this way